Still

07.

Chapter Seven

Memories from five years ago began flooding her thoughts. Like clockwork, the tears came quicker than she could suppress them. A story like this wasn't one to tell in bits and pieces. It was a story that deserved the truth and from the very beginning without any bias.

While the story of Jourdan and Maia started in high school, the difficult parts of their story started six years ago. Maia and Jourdan had always been the better friends of the crew. They were always seen together. When one thought something, the other was usually thinking the same thing. One night during one of their many slumber parties at Malik's apartment, Jourdan and Maia decided to dip away from everyone else.

Maia was the lightweight of the group and any sip of the Devil's oil was sure to get her feeling herself. Tonight was no different. The only difference was that Jourdan, too, was under the influence. For a while, he'd been battling feelings that he was unsure of how to handle.

He asked Maia to come to bedroom with him so that they could just talk about something. Mai had peeped his nervousness from a mile away, but she was unsure of what was going on.

"You aight?" Mai asked with her beautiful smile. Like always, she was in his space. Her hand had found its way to his cheek as she stood in between his legs. Jourdan looked up to her and really took in her beauty. He'd always known that Maia was a beautiful girl. Shit, he could see that even when she had braces. It was that heart of hers that just made her golden.

He took a hold of her wrist to stop her hand's glide of his face. Mai giggled. "What are you doing?"

Jourdan licked his lips before pressing down on them with his top teeth. What was he doing? The next words out of his mouth could either be the worst thing he'd ever say in his life or the best thing in the world. He'd practiced this line over and over. He'd studied his feelings and did dumb shit to make sure everything was what it seemed.

"I love you, Maia." It was short, sweet, and to the point. He couldn't take the words back. He couldn't try to cover it up. She'd heard the words a million times in passing, but this time it felt different. It was different. Both hearts pounded in anticipation for whatever could come next. Would she call him crazy for falling in love with his best friend? Would she tell everybody else how much of a sucka he was for the shit he just pulled?

No, she'd plant a kiss on his lips, which he'd counter with a slip of his tongue. He'd lay back on the bed and allow her to climb on top of him. She was in control of this moment, just how he wanted it. The make out session was hot, heavy, and the best that Jourdan ever had. To this day, he still never found a better kisser than Maia Marie Brix.

She pulled away from him and looked down at his beautiful brown eyes. "What did you do?" Jourdan was confused. Did he do something wrong? "We were supposed to fight it."

He sat up on the bed and clasped his hands together. "Can't fight something like this, ma." Mai thought about their next steps. She was the rational one between the two of them. She was the one that made all of the decisions. "Fighting what's right in my face every single day is like physically fighting you. I would've had to push you away and you don't deserve that."

"I've been in love with you," Mai confessed. "I figured out my feelings a while ago, but I just kept them to myself. I thought it was better for everyone. For us."

"But what about you? Me?" Jourdan asked. "Don't we deserve to be happy and shit?"

"But what if this fails?" She'd seen it before. The best friends try to make a relationship work and it just ends bad. Why not savor the friendship above all?